Police Find Malnourished Girl in Closet. They're Looking for Her Sister Last Seen in 2017
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Police in Texas are seeking the public's help in finding a missing child who was last seen in 2017, after her mother was accused of locking another child in a closet.
Ava Marie Gonzales, now 9, was last seen by family and friends at age 2, the Austin Police Department (APD) said in a press release.
The child's mother, Virginia Gonzales, was arrested on April 24 for alleged serious injury to a child. APD said it is "seriously concerned about Ava's welfare" given the circumstances in which her younger sibling was found on April 3.
The grandmother of the child called 911 after finding her 7-year-old granddaughter "malnourished, soiled and barricaded in a bedroom closet," according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN.
Left: Ava Marie Gonzales in December 2017 at age 2. Right: An age-progression photo showing how Gonzales would look today.
Left: Ava Marie Gonzales in December 2017 at age 2. Right: An age-progression photo showing how Gonzales would look today.
Austin Police Department
What To Know
Ava was never reported missing after her disappearance more than seven years ago, according to KXAN. Ava is described as a Hispanic female with straight brown hair and brown eyes. Her height and weight are unknown.
Officers responded to an apartment on Ross Road in Del Valle last month for a welfare check. The grandmother told police that the other children in the home were told to put a 7-year-old girl in a closet because she had trouble controlling her bladder, according to the affidavit.
She also told officials that the child was "always getting into stuff," which she explained meant that the child was eating things she was not allowed to.
The girl was taken to Dell Children's Medical Center, where her weight was recorded as 29 pounds. She had dark-colored spots on her body, which medical staff identified as a sign of malnourishment, police said. She also said that her "bones hurt."
An older sibling told police that the child would eat a "hotdog/corndog in the morning and in the evening" and could drink only a half-cup of water, according to the affidavit. Officials said the pantry, refrigerator and freezer were stocked with a variety of foods. Six other children found in the home appeared physically healthy.
The closet in which the child was found had no light or air circulation. It measured about 4 feet, 9 inches by 1 foot, 10 inches, but other items in the closet took up some space, according to the affidavit.
Police said the closet door was barricaded with boxes weighing more than 75 pounds combined.
What People Are Saying
Austin Police Department Detective Russell Constable, at a press conference: "[The mom] has provided conflicting information to many different family members. So, we're hoping to get more information and try to figure out where she is."
Shelly Troberman, an attorney with Child Protective Services experience, told KXAN: "You've got a lot of different people sometimes operating in these cases, getting different information and sharing incorrect information with each other. It makes it hard."
What Happens Next
Anyone with information on Ava's whereabouts is asked to contact ava@austintexas.gov. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 512-572-8477.
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